AMD successfully tapes out 40nm GPU

It looks like AMD has just successfully taped out its first 40nm GPU which it calls RV740. Though this is only a mid-range chip which is said to take over where RV730 leaves off, it's a big milestone for AMD and they plan to gain some experience from it in order to better design their next-gen RV870 chip, also referred to as Lil' Dragon.

It's been said that we can expect to see RV740 shipping on cards sometime after Q1 of next year. Thanks to Nordic Hardware for the heads up.